Top 10 Online Stores for Eco-Friendly Decorating

As the green culture grows and becomes more desirable, more retailers and manufacturers are adding eco-friendly products to their offerings. However, there are a few companies that stand out from the crowd — some because they started with a green foundation, and others because they offer sustainable products with the same zest and prominence as their more traditional offerings. Here are my picks for the top 10 online retailers for eco-friendly home decor:

1. VIVATERRA — There is no beating VivaTerra when it comes to green products. From furniture and bedding to sculptures, tableware and trinkets, you could furnish much of your house by shopping on their website. Their commitment to sustainability is in everything they do, from planting trees and building wind generators to printing their catalog on recycled paper. And then, of course, are their products. Nearly everything is made of recycled, sustainable, organic, reclaimed, Fair Trade or renewable resources.

2. GAIAM — Although their offerings extend beyond home decor to clothing, yoga products and more, their selection of housewares is large enough to make it one of my favorite resources. There is a reason Gaiam is one of ten businesses nominated for Co-Op America’s Green Business of the Year. Gaiam sells everything from organic bedding to solar powered lighting. Though many of the products are more practical than they are stylish, there is enough style to satisfy a savvy decorator.

3. VIVAVI — There is no way I could create a list about eco-friendly home decorating without mentioning this green giant. Founded by the “Lazy Environmentalist” himself, Josh Dorfman, Vivavi is the epitome of eco-luxury. You will regularly find products in the 4- and 5-figure range, but they are all made sustainably and built to last a lifetime — or a few lifetimes, really. If you’ve got fairly deep pockets, you can furnish your entire home without leaving the site.

4. 2MODERN.com — I loved this site long before I really understood what “green” meant, because it truly lives up to its name. Their product offerings are perfect for the modern home and for anyone who loves contemporary style. But what’s even better is their tremendous selection of eco-friendly products, which is quite nearly as large as the number of non-green products. And what you may have lacked in style at Gaiam will easily be made up at 2Modern. This site was a tusted resource for my Green Rooms in a Box series.

5. Design Public — This is another site that I fell in love with for its modern aesthetic long before I found its collection of sustainable products. From furniture to kids’ products and more, you’ll find that green is much more than just a color here. It’s a very stylish, very attainable way of life. Sure, some of the products are pricey, but you know what they say: you get what you pay for. And in this case, what you’re paying for is a cleaner, greener future — not to mention a safer home.

PHOTO:Suzanne Wallpaper by Graham & Brown | $75 | 50% of this wallpaper is sourced from recycled material or from FSC-certified sources (aff)

6. Design Within Reach — Though the green products can be a bit harder to find because of the product descriptions. The search feature makes things a little easier, though not by much. Once you do find the green products however, they are worth the wait. The key word in “Design Within Reach” is “design.” Everything I have ever found at the site has been stunning and unique, though definitely on the pricey end.

PHOTO:Nine-0 Stacking Barstool by Emeco | $425 | Made of 80% recycled aluminum, has an estimated lifespan of 150 years and contributes to LEED credit

7. Uncommon Goods — This name is as much a brand as it is a description. Uncommon Goods is an online store that features all manner of unique and functional products, many of which are eco-friendly. You’ll find art and mirrors made from recycled license plates and billboards, and organic cotton towels and pillows. It’s a great place to browse, even if you’re not buying. It has given me crafty ideas of recycling projects on more than one occassion, though I have yet to complete any of them.

8. Etsy.com — If you don’t know what etsy is, you must not have been reading this site for very long. Thousands of artisans use etsy to peddle their wares to customers who can appreciate the time that goes into making products by hand. This is inherently more eco-friendly and resource efficient than mass-produced items that tend to waste resources and energy. Etsy also has its fair share of recycled, upcycled, sustainable and organic products. In fact, you can find many of them at EcoEtsy.com.

9. GreenCulture — This is the parent company of a variety of eco-stores, from Eco-Furniture.com to Eco-Lights.com and EcoHousewares.com, all of which you can reach from the GreenCulture home page. Based on the names of the sites under its umbrella, you can tell what is sold at each. GreenCulture tells you the sustainable qualities of each product on its decription page. Some of it isn’t as sustainable as I would like, and the search feature isn’t very useful. But if you’re willing to take the time to look, you can find some great items.

10. Craigslist — I know what you’re thinking…Craigslist isn’t a store. But it is one of the best resources for finding used, local furniture. One of the greenest shopping decisions you can ever make is to buy furniture that is in its second life. And because Craigslist has sections for every state and pretty much every major city in the U.S., as well as some smaller towns, if you’re willing to look, you can really find some used gems.

hello, i have started a small eco-friendly company, napa farmhouse 1885. everything we sell is handmade. each item in our home, garden and accessories collection is made from reused, repurposed and/or recycled materials. we have handcrafted organic dog treats. we tell the stories of the artists on our home page. we are very new..adding additional products all the time. i would love any feedback or suggestions regarding our site.
get to know me from my blog.. http://www.napafarmhouse1885.blogspot.com
thank you in adbance,
diane

Don’t forget auctions, ebay, and garage sales. The hunt is so much fun! I am glad you mentioned that Green Culture’s furniture is not always sustainable. Everyone should ask about whether their stains and finishes are nontoxic as well. Most of the time, only how the wood is harvested is addressed.

Believe it or not, stores like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and others are started to have sustainable products. Just ask. You might be surprised.

Have a look at Turning Life for a selection of over 400 green and eco-friendly goods for health, home and garden. Our selection of Men’s and Women’s organic cotton and bamboo clothing alone is worth having a quick peak.

Fantastic list! I’d like to nominate gnr8.biz to be added. Like DWR, they specialize in great modern design, not eco-design as such… so you need to dig a bit. But the green products you’ll find are decorating gold.

As well as producing eco friendly furniture, there are other ways of helping the environment. One is to lower your carbon footprint by cutting down shipping costs. At the Furniture Centre we produce our own furniture onsite and sell to the local area. This is better than many of the larger furntiure retailers who move furniture to showrooms and warehouses from abroad before shipping them to customers. Inadditon, it is important that furniture manufacturers use timber form sustainable sources to help avoid deforestation. So think carefully about the whole picture as Eco friendly comes in many forms

Hi Jennae,
Just wanted to say thanks for mentioning UncommonGoods — the more people who know about our eco-friendly items the better. With the holidays coming up, we are adding new items every day — so keep checking the site for great never-seen-before eco items. Thanks again!

Hi Jennae, thank you for working so hard to promote eco friendly interior design! Great list. I’d like to add the Salvation Army’s shops – I buy almost all my clothes there (and they’re actually pretty cool), and I’ve also bought furniture and decoration stuff. I redid my whole bedroom decoration using things I found in one of their shops.

Thank you Jennae for featuring my Green Deer in your top picks for all things green decor! that is so nice!
I too appreciate all the links and feel it is such a valuable task to highlight as many green businesses and independent artists as possible..because after all, 🙂 the more options people know about, the better the world can be.
Here’s to Being Green! and venues like etsy.com for providing an opportunity for so many artists. Hooray! 🙂

If you want an extensive look at gorgeous green homes, and a resource section to book, pick up a copy of a book I just wrote with my husband, Green Architect Paul Gleicher. It is called Dreaming Green: Eco-Fabulous Homes Designed to Inspirehttp://www.dreaminggreenbook.com

Can’t believe i just found this great post, it’s wonderful and I’m happy to report I am Captain of the Etsy Recycler’s Guild, where we have a global team who uses upcycled components in their work, makes things from discarded or recycled goods and/ or repurposed vintage. I love this article as it highlights EcoEtsy, and we love them too. In fact Etsy has many different eco friendly and recycle teams now where customers can use a “team tag” search to find these awesome team’s items!Cindy recently posted { Meet Kim of A Repurposeful Life }

Hello, thanks for these wonderful sources. I was looking for modern eco outdoor lights for my backyard and a colleague from suggested your blog. It’s nice to see so many people preferring eco-friendly materials.

Hey! You forgot us! We carry one of a kind, all handmade, hand crafted and hand designed in the Ozarks… 100% eco-friendly right down to a zero VOC durable finish. We have everything home decor from elevated pet feeders, to tables to entry organizers and more!http://www.ofto.us

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GREEN YOUR DECOR

Your Guide to Stylish, Sustainable Decorating & DIY

Hey, There!

I’m Jennae Petersen, and I’m a lot of things. A wife, a mother, a graphic designer and a connosieur of beautiful things. Green Your Decor was borne of my frustration with finding beautiful things that were also eco-friendly, and inspiration to reduce my own carbon footprint and help others do the same. LEARN MORE